At the close of ASTC’s 2011 Annual Conference in Baltimore on Tuesday, October 18, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry President and CEO Nancy Stueber, who has served as ASTC’s president for the last two years, passed the gavel to the Association’s new president, R. Bryce Seidl, president and CEO of the Pacific Science Center, Seattle. Seidl formerly served as ASTC’s secretary/treasurer.

“Coming out of this conference, I am even more energized about the power and potential of ASTC to help our members and partners move the world forward on science and science education,” Seidl remarked.

Joining Seidl as board officers are: Chevy Humphrey, president and CEO, Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, who will serve as secretary/treasurer; Linda Conlon, chief executive, International Centre for Life, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, who will serve as vice president; Joanna Haas, executive director, Louisville Science Center, Kentucky, who will serve as member-at-large; and Stueber, who assumes the position of immediate past president.

Two board members—Dennis Bartels, executive director of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and Ann Fumarolo, president and CEO of SciPort: Louisiana’s Science Center in Shreveport—were re-elected to a second term. Four new board members were also elected: Nohora Elizabeth Hoyos, executive director, Maloka, Bogota, Colombia; Neville Petrie, CEO, Science Alive! The New Zealand Science Centre, Christchurch; Stephanie Ratcliffe, executive director, Wild Center, Tupper Lake, New York; and Barry Van Deman, president and CEO, North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, Durham.

ASTC board members not up for re-election this year include: Linda Abraham-Silver, president and executive director, Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, Ohio; David Chesebrough, president and CEO, COSI, Columbus, Ohio; Joseph Hastings, executive director, Don Harrington Discovery Center, Amarillo, Texas; Ronen Mir, general director, MadaTech: Israel National Museum of Science, Haifa; David Mosena, president and CEO, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago; and Carol Valenta, senior vice president, Saint Louis Science Center, Missouri. Those individuals whose terms have ended include Immediate Past President Lesley Lewis, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto; Member-at-Large Erik Jacquemyn, Technopolis, the Flemish Science Center, Mechelen, Belgium; Graham Durant, Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre, Canberra, ACT, Australia; and Charlie Trautmann, Sciencenter, Ithaca, New York.

The Live Demonstration Hour has long been a highlight of the ASTC Annual Conference, and this year’s wowed the audience once again. If you missed it (or want to watch again!), videos of each demonstration are available through the links below.

Niki Hord, Maryland Science Center, Baltimore

Adiel Fernandez, New York Hall of Science, Queens

Jonah Cohen, The Children’s Museum, West Hartford, Connecticut

Eddie Goldstein and Jodi Schoemer, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Colorado

Steve Spangler, Steve Spangler Science, Denver, Colorado

About the image: Jonah Cohen launches an air pressure rocket. Photo by Christine Ruffo

ASTC’s Youth Inspired Challenge is one year old, so what better way to celebrate than by having a birthday party in the 2011 ASTC Annual Conference Exhibit Hall? Amid party hats and cake, conference attendees met science center youth program participants from the New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences, Camden; Pacific Science Center, Seattle; the Philadelphia Zoo; and the National Aquarium, Baltimore. Libby Redda from Pacific Science Center and Jeremy Martinez from the National Aquarium addressed the crowd, sharing their experiences and describing how they personally have benefitted from the institutions’ youth programs.

ASTC’s Youth Inspired Challenge is designed to expand the impact of science centers and museums to assist our youth to become the innovative and creative thinkers needed for the 21st-century workforce. ASTC-member institutions will offer valuable science education and youth employment programs outside the classroom to engage youth in a minimum of 2 million hours of science enrichment through STEM-centered youth development programs. In the program’s first year, nearly 14,000 youth across the globe were reached during more than 702,000 out-of-school hours. Click here to learn how your institution can join the program.

ASTC would like to thank the chaperones and youth participants for joining our celebration!

About the image: Libby Redda, Pacific Science Center, and Jeremy Martinez, National Aquarium. Photo by Christine Ruffo

Attendees from across the globe are arriving in Baltimore for the 2011 ASTC Annual Conference. This year’s theme, Knowledge that Works—From Theory to Practice, is tremendously appropriate given the collective body of knowledge the science center community possesses. The conference is our best opportunity to share our knowledge and put it to work for all.

We invite you to follow the 2011 ASTC Annual Conference online. The conference blog will be updated regularly through Tuesday. Follow us on Twitter (@ScienceCenters) and join in discussions using hash tag #ASTC2011. Photos and videos will also be posted in our Flickr pool and on our YouTube channel.

Thank you for joining us in Charm City for another fantastic ASTC Annual Conference.

About the image: A ship in Baltimore‘s Inner Harbor. Photo by Christine Ruffo, ASTC

U.S.-based ASTC member institutions are encouraged to participate in an exciting program with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) gives teams of 25 or more high school students the chance to work alongside professional engineers to build and program a robot to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. More than 50 regional events across the United States will take place in March and April 2012.

ASTC partner jcpenney is making available $6,500 grants to cover the full cost of registration and initial materials for the FRC program. Additionally, jcpenney FRC grant recipients are paired with a jcpenney store, providing a source of support and partnership.

Dubbed a “varsity sport for the mind,” FRC combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. It’s as close to “real world” engineering that a student can get, and volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. Check out FIRST live on its YouTube channel.

The deadline for applications is October 15.

Interested institutions should contact their local FIRST regional director (www.usfirst.org/regionalcontact.aspx) for details. And for more information on this exciting program, visit www.usfirst.org and click on “FRC” at the top of the page.